A homily for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, February 13, 2022
Jer 17:5-8, 1 Cor 15:12, 16-20, Lk 6:17, 20-26
When we think back to a banquet or an awards dinner or a wedding, what do we remember right off the bat?
Probably the dessert.
And there’s a scientific reason why we remember the wedding cake. Psychologists call it the serial position effect.
A homily for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, February 6, 2022
Is 6:1-2a, 3-8, 1 Cor 15:3-8, 11, Lk 5:1-11
We who used to be children probably grew up with Dad Jokes and Mom-isms.
(There were Dad-isms too, but they mostly were some variation of “Listen to your mother!”)
Mom-isms were deeply concerned with what kind of underwear to wear and when, where to cross the street and when, who to play with and when, and homework.
And Mom-isms weren’t always straightforward or direct. For example, when Mom might happen upon a filled-up kitchen sink, she’d say, “Those dishes aren’t going to wash themselves.”
And we got the hint.
A homily for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, January 30, 2022
Jer 1:4-5, 17-19, 1 Cor 12:31—13:13, Lk 4:21-30
The Rock and Roll and Country Music halls of fame. New Jersey Hall of Fame. Halls of fame for every sport imaginable, at every level conceivable: pro, college, amateur and more.
In fact, there probably are halls of fame for every endeavor in which more than three people participate.
And if an inductee is somebody local, then every family member and every neighbor and every teacher and preacher and the mayor and fire chief and three marching bands parade down Main Street to hail the Hometown Hero.
So why did Jesus have to slip away from his home village to avoid being run out of town on a rail?
Didn’t he qualify as a Hometown Hero?
A homily for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, January 23, 2022
Neh 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10, 1 Cor 12:12-14, 27, Lk 1:1-4; 4:14-21
I was in high school at the end of The Sixties. Christian Brothers Academy, Lincroft, New Jersey, Class of 1973. Yes, I’m that old.
Times back then were tumultuous: The war in Vietnam. Oppressed minority citizens rioting in our cities for their God-given civil rights. The slaughter at Kent State. Watergate.
Many Catholic clergymen refusing to breathe in the fresh air from windows thrown open by Vatican II.
And no one over 30 could be trusted.
A homily for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, January 16, 2022
Is 62:1-5, 1 Cor 12:4-11, Jn 2:1-11
Rubik’s Cube. Jenga. Pick-Up Sticks. Checkers and chess. Jigsaw puzzles. Even Hungry Hungry Hippos.
Success in every one of these pastimes and many others depends on having the right pieces in the right place at the right time and, very often, having many pieces precisely where they need to be simultaneously.
A homily for the Baptism of the Lord, January 9, 2022
Is 42:1-4, 6-7, Ti 2:11-14; 3:4-7, Lk 3:15-16, 21-22
So: God in Heaven is well pleased with Jesus.
Duh.
Could anyone expect anything else?
Even though his ministry was still in its infancy, Jesus was living the right way, working the right way, teaching the right way and following the Law and the Prophets as any observant Jew of his age should.
Simply put, he was doing everything that a man of his time and place believed would please God.
And God literally said as much.
Jesus, son of God, got high praise.
So where does that leave us?
A homily for the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, December 26, 2021
Sir 3:2-6, 12-14, Col 3:12-21, Lk 2:41-52
A little girl is watching one of the dozens of rerun channels on TV and asks her parents, “When you were my age, were you in black and white?”
Because, of course, before Adam West appeared IN COLOR twice a week at the same bat-time on the same bat-channel, everything indeed was black and white.
Maybe not visually, but definitely in society.
A homily for The Nativity of the Lord — Christmas, December 25, 2021
Readings from the Mass at Night: Is 9:1-6, Ti 2:11-14, Lk 2:1-14
‘Tis better to give than receive.
Every child knows that. Every adult says that.
Every person of faith, justice and charity tries to live up to that.
So what’s the best gift to give today and every day?
A homily for the Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 7, 2021
1 Kgs 17:10-16, Heb 9:24-28, Mk 12:38-44 or 12:41-44
Shortly after I started college, I turned my back on the church. Oh, I’d drop in occasionally to the Sunday evening everybody-sits-on-the-floor-around-the-guitarist Mass in the private dining rooms opposite the main cafeteria, but for the most part, I stopped being a church-goer.
I wasn’t being lazy, and I hadn’t lost my faith or sense of spirituality. (I wound up minoring in theology.) But I was annoyed at my home parish’s incredible preoccupation with money. Well, anyway, that’s how I perceived it.
A homily for the Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 31, 2021
Dt 6:2-6, Heb 7:23-28, Mk 12:28b-34
Let’s imagine for a minute that it’s Christmas, and we’re 10 years old.
Our favorite uncle has given us the bicycle we’ve been dreaming about — shiny, painted in a red-and-gold sunburst, custom seat and no training wheels.
We throw our arms around Uncle Joe and say, “Thankyouthankyouthankyou!” about a hundred times.
We grab our coat, wheel our prized new bike out into the December chill — which we don’t feel at all — and pedal around the block a few times.
Just like Ralphie in the movie, this is the best present we ever got or would ever get.
